Why Claremont
Hello,
I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and share my Claremont experience thus far with you. I am the president-elect of the PTA and have served as the VP of Communications for the PTA for the last two years. I am married, have a rising third grade daughter, and neither my husband nor I speak Spanish. We moved from DC to Arlington in search of better schools. We live near Nottingham Elementary School, and my daughter is a Claremont bus rider. We chose Claremont because we wanted our daughter to learn a second language and to be a citizen of the world, yet we wanted to make sure she had a typical Arlington Public School (APS) experience too. Our goal has been for her to love learning, and so far she has.
Claremont has been a supportive and engaging environment for our daughter. Claremont has some teachers who care not just about teaching the subject but instilling a sense of curiosity about the world. It stems from the principal and the assistant principal who encourage the children to explore and not just learn for a test. Claremont takes a holistic approach towards educating the kids. It’s not all about the academics but also about nutrition, the arts, physical education and more. Claremont Immersion School received the Governor’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Golden Award, and the Redskins gave Claremont $10,000 for our commitment to fitness. Just this year, Claremont was selected as Colegio Del Ano – School of the Year by the Embassy of Spain for its expertise at teaching core academic content in Spanish.
Additionally, what I love is the arts emphasis. Through an arts partnership with outside cultural organizations, students learn through the cultural arts. Students have been exposed to the Washington National Opera as well as cultural embassy programs and writing programs from local universities. The kids really loved participating and creating with the various cultural groups.
And, of course, the Spanish…as a parent, it is a magical moment to watch your child converse as easily in English as in Spanish. They really can take science, music or art concepts they learned in Spanish and explain it back in English. My daughter has been at Claremont for three years, and is now conversationally fluent in Spanish. It did not happen overnight, but it did happen, just as everyone had assured us it would. As homework gets more challenging in the upper grades, Claremont has an established buddy system where kids are paired together to help each other with homework.
The school is fabulous as are all of the Arlington schools, so whatever decision you reach, you are in good hands all around. As part of the APS system, Claremont Immersion is held to the same APS standards, which include standards of learning, testing measures, extended day programs, school hours, vacations, lunch, recess, and specials such as physical education, art, music and science.
The high point for me is the Claremont community. I am friends, really friends, with so many of the parents. The community is diverse on all levels and comes together to foster school pride and commitment. Families and parents attend PTA events. We have so many generous volunteers to make the school a welcoming place for all students and families. Parents really want to make the school a great place, and they have initiated projects and built support around so many of their ideas.
For more information, please feel free to contact, Ms. Cintia Johnson at cjohnson@arlington.k12.va.us, the school principal or me, Sarita Bhargava.